TAPE PRINTER

Abstract: A tape printer for printing a plurality of strings on a tape-like printing medium wherein printing of characters of each line inputted whose positions are reversed or exchanged is easily effected. Before a plurality of strings of characters of lines inputted are printed, the printing data whose amount corresponds to one line of a thermal head (15) are developed (S13, S14), and when the development of data on all the lines is completed (S15), data on each line is rearranged in a line buffer (50) in accordance with a line-correspondence table. Reversed or exchanged printing can be obtained by printing the printing data in the line buffer.

Description: The present invention relates to a tape printing apparatus for printing print data, such as a desired character string, on a tape, and more particularly, to a printing apparatus having a function for printing character strings over a plurality of lines on a tape. There has been recently developed a tape printing apparatus for printing a desired character string (characters, signs and the like) on a tape-like printing medium (referred to as "tape" hereinafter). This tape printing apparatus is used widely for business and home use because of its ability to easily and neatly print a heading or a title on the surface of a tape and ease of use in making a backbone of a file and a title label of a videotape. In particular, the printing apparatus disclosed in JP-A-5-177905 allows a plurality of lines to be printed on a tape simply and easily with introduction of the concept of "paragraphs". Herein, a paragraph means a set of one or more lines to be simultaneously printed on a tape. Fig. 7(A) shows an example of a tape made by using the concept of paragraphs, which is composed of a first paragraph 70 consisting of one line and a second paragraph 71 consisting of three lines. Fig. 7(B) shows an example of an editing state of these paragraphs as it appears on a display. Numerals 72 and 73 denote marks each indicating a head of a paragraph, numerals 74, 75 and 76 denote marks each indicating a head of each line in a paragraph, and numeral 77 denotes character strings input in each line. The paragraphs thus edited are sequentially printed in a feeding direction of the tape, by which a plurality of paragraphs having different numbers of lines can be printed. Since such a tape printing apparatus is used to make a backbone of a file and a title label of a videotape, it is sometimes required to obtain a vertical print as shown in Fig. 8, and therefore, the printing apparatus is generally provided with a vertical print function. In the case of a backbone of a file, it is required in some use that some characters be arranged laterally in vertical printing. Fig. 9(A) shows a print example in such a case. Characters "NO1" in the first paragraph are arranged laterally even in vertical printing. However, as the comparison between Fig. 7(A) and Fig. 8 reveals, the tape printing apparatus according to the prior art sequentially prints lines (first, second, ...) from the top of the label in vertical printing while turning each character at a right angle without changing print positions of character strings. Therefore, in order to print "NO1" shown in Fig. 9(A), characters "1", "O" and "N" must be respectively input in the first, second and third lines in reverse order to the arrangement thereof in the editing stage as shown in Fig. 9(B). The user needs to input the characters while inverting the positional relation of the line in mind. Such an input method loads the user heavily, and changing edited results is difficult. The use of the tape printing apparatus is not limited to printing of Japanese characters, and the tape printing apparatus can be provided for languages of all the countries of the world by changing an input means and stored data. In some languages, vertically written sentences are read from left to right. Fig. 10 shows an example of such a language. In order to vertically print character strings printed laterally as shown in Fig. 10(A), the character strings need to be printed in the positional relation shown in Fig. 10(B), which causes a similar problem. Furthermore, it is conceived that input character strings over a plurality of lines may be inverted vertically or interchanged in lateral printing. For example, there is a case where the name of town, the address and the name are respectively input in the first, second and third lines of an address label, and then, the name is required to be printed in the first line in view of a print result. For that purpose, an expensive word processor is provided with an editing function for easily interchanging sentences. However, in a tape printing apparatus required to be less expensive, restrictions on a display device and a memory capacity make it difficult to achieve such a high-level function, and it is necessary to input sentences again after erasing previously input sentences. The present invention is intended to solve these problems, and an object of the present invention is to provide a tape printing apparatus which can easily reverse the arrangement order of lines. This object is achieved with a printing apparatus as claimed in claim 1. Preferred embodiments of the invention are subject-matter of the dependent claims. According to the above construction, since the position of a line can be easily reversed, a character string in which some characters are arranged laterally even in vertical printing can be easily printed. Furthermore, since a plurality of lines can be interchanged in lateral printing, operability of the tape printing apparatus can be drastically enhanced. Still furthermore, the linkage of the line reverse function to the vertical printing allows printing of a vertically written sentence and a language to be read from left to right without impairing the use custom thereof. The present text distinguishes between print data lines and print lines. In the example shown in Fig. 7 the text input for printing comprises two paragraphs 70 and 71. 70 denotes a single-line paragraph and 71 a multiple-line paragraph. Paragraph 71 includes three print data lines numbered 1 through 3 consecutively in the order in which they are input. The three print data lines are printed in three print lines, a first print line next to the top edge of the tape, a third print line next to the bottom edge and second one between the first and third ones. In the example of Fig. 7, the first print data line is printed in the first print line, the second in the second print line and the third in the third print line. The present invention allows to easily invert this order or to arbitrarily select another order. With respect to the example in Fig. 7, a reversed order would result in the third print data line being printed in the first print line and the first print data line in the third print line, i.e. in Fig. 7(A) "Up to 3 lines" and "Five tape sizes" would be exchanged for each other. The present invention will be described in more detail in conjunction with an embodiment and with reference to the drawings hereinafter. Fig. 1 is an outward view of a tape printing apparatus according to an embodiment of the present invention. Fig. 2 is a schematic structural view of a tape cartridge in the embodiment. Fig. 3 is a block diagram of a control circuit in the embodiment. Fig. 4 is a view showing a flow chart of printing in the embodiment. Fig. 5 is a view showing the structure of a line buffer in the embodiment. Fig. 6 is a view showing line-corresponding tables in the embodiment. Fig. 7 is a view showing a print example and an input state example of a plurality of lines in the tape printing apparatus. Fig. 8 is a view showing a vertical print example of the tape printing apparatus. Fig. 9 is a view showing a vertical print example of a tape on which some characters are arranged laterally and an input state in the prior art. Fig. 10 is a view showing a print example of a language in which sentences are read from left to right in vertical printing. Fig. 11 is a view showing a state in which sentences are interchanged in lateral printing. Fig. 12 is a view explaining the procedure for designating interchange or inversion of lines. Fig. 1 is a view showing an outward appearance of a tape printing apparatus according to this embodiment. A tape printing apparatus 1 comprises a main case 10 for housing various components, an input, exemplified as a keyboard 11, for data and control input, a display 12 for displaying a character string and other information, and a main cover 13 which can open and close. A tape cartridge 20 is loaded in a tape cartridge compartment 14 located on the upper left of a main body. The main cover 13 is provided with windows 13L and 13R at positions respectively corresponding to the tape cartridge compartment 14 and the display 12, through which display contents and the loaded tape cartridge can be checked even in a state in which the main cover 13 is closed. As shown in Fig. 2, the tape cartridge houses a platen 21 made of a cylindrical member, a tape 22 as a printed medium and a thermal transfer ribbon 23. The tape 22 is wound into a cylinder on a tape core 22A, and the leading end thereof is ejected from the left side of the tape cartridge 20. The thermal transfer ribbon 23 is wound into a cylinder on a ribbon core 23A, and taken up by the rotation of a ribbon take-up core 23B. The tape cartridge 20 is loaded so that a thermal head 15 located to project in the tape cartridge compartment 14 passes through an approach hole 24 formed in the tape cartridge, by which the tape 22 and the thermal transfer ribbon 23 are located between the thermal head 15 and the platen 21. Furthermore, when the main cover 13 is closed, the thermal head 15 presses the tape 22 and the thermal transfer ribbon 23 against the platen 21 with a preset pressure. The platen 21 and the ribbon take-up core 23B are connected to an unillustrated motor, which is built in the main body, through gears. Thereby, the rotation of the motor rotates the platen 21 and the ribbon take-up core 23B, and transports the tape 22 and the thermal transfer ribbon 23 sandwiched between the thermal head 15 and the platen 21 toward the left of the tape cartridge. Heating elements of the thermal head 15 are appropriately controlled during such transport process of the tape 22 and the thermal transfer ribbon 23, thereby performing thermal-transfer printing on the tape. When the tape printing apparatus 1 is used, the main cover 13 is first opened as shown in Fig. 1, the tape cartridge 20 is loaded, and the main cover 13 is closed. Then, the power is turned on by operating a power key 11A, and characters to be printed and attributes of the characters are input from the keyboard 11. When an instruction to perform printing is given by operating a print key 11 B, the input characters are printed on the tape 22 supplied in the tape cartridge 20 according to the input attributes. The printed tape 22 is ejected from a tape ejection opening 16 provided on the left of the main case 10. When the ejection is completed, the tape 22 is cut by a cutter located near the tape ejection opening 16 of the main body by pressing down a cutter button 17, thereby making a separate tape. A control circuit built in the main body will now be described. Fig. 3 shows the general configuration of the control circuit. The control circuit comprises a one-chip microprocessor (referred to as "CPU" hereinafter) 30 in which input and output ports are integrated, a ROM 31, a RAM 32 and various other circuits, namely the keyboard 11, the display 33, a printer 34 and the like. The ROM 31 stores programs for controlling the operation of the CPU 30, dictionary data used in kana-kanji conversion for inputting kanji, and bitmap data of characters and signs used for display and printing. The program or data designated by an address bus AD is read into the CPU 30 through a data bus DA. The CPU 30 controls the keyboard 11, the display 33 and the printer 34 mentioned above according to the read program. The RAM 32 is also connected to the CPU 30 through an address bus AD and a data bus DA, stores input data from the keyboard 11, and is also used as a work area in performing various processes, for example, printing and display. The keyboard 11 is composed of 63 keys. These keys are arranged in a 8 x 8 matrix, and connected to output ports PA1 to PA8 and input ports PB1 to PB8 of the CPU 30, which makes it possible to judge, based on the relationship between control signals to the output ports and read data from the input ports, which key is operated. These 63 keys are divided into character keys and function keys. The character keys are keys for inputting characters to be printed, and the function keys are keys for setting character attributes and designating the function, such as printing and editing. Designation of vertical printing and the number of lines and instructions to invert the print position of a line in the present invention are performed by operating the function keys. The display 33 comprises a liquid crystal panel (referred to as "LCD" hereinafter) 12 for display and an LCD driver circuit 33A for driving the LCD. The LCD 12 is a 16 x 96 dot-matrix LCD. The LCD driver circuit 33A is connected through an address bus AD and a data bus DA. When data "1" or "0" is written at a designated address in the LCD driver circuit 33A, a dot of the LCD 12 corresponding to the address, where "1" is written, is lighted. The printer 34 comprises the thermal head 15, a stepping motor 34A, and driver circuits 34B and 34C, respectively, therefor. The thermal head 15 is formed by one line of heating elements of 96 dots, and is controlled by four signals CLK, SIO, LAT and STB through the thermal head driver 34B. The procedure for driving the thermal head 15 will be described below. First, signals "1" or "0" for determining ON/OFF of the 96-dot heating elements are transferred as serial data SIO in synchronization with the clock signal CLK. After the transfer is completed, the LAT signal is changed to "1", the ON/OFF signals transferred by the serial data are assigned to respective drive circuits for the heating elements. When the STB signal is changed to "1", the drive circuits to which the signals "1" were assigned are turned on and the dots corresponding to the drive circuits generate heat. Such control makes it possible to control the 96-dot heating elements dot by dot, and therefore, to print complicated characters and signs. The stepping motor 34A has a four-phase structure. When signals 90° out of phase with one another are applied respectively from ports PD1 to PD4 of the CPU 30, the signals are amplified by the motor driver 34C and the stepping motor 34A is driven. The CPU 30 is also connected to a cartridge information detection circuit 35A, a temperature detection circuit 35B and a voltage detection circuit 35C. Information on the loaded tape cartridge 20 (for example, the width and material of the tape) and information on the temperature near the thermal head 15 and the voltage to be applied are input to the CPU 30, and the time for making the thermal head 15 generate heat and the rotation speed of the stepping motor 34A are determined based on this information. The control circuit further comprises a power supply 36. The power supply converts the power supplied from a battery BAT or through a cable 36A into a voltage according to the standards of the components, such as the control circuit, the thermal head 15, the stepping motor 34A and the LCD 12, and supplies the voltage to the components. In particular, since a conversion circuit for the thermal head 15 has a large capacity and the power loss thereof is high, it is operated efficiently by PE1 to be actuated only when the printer 34 is in operation. Processing steps in realizing the present invention by software in the above-mentioned control circuit configuration will now be described with reference to Fig. 4. Fig. 4 is a flow chart showing the printing process. Printing is started at the time when the print key 11B is operated, and prints sentences composed of characters and signs input from the input 11 to the RAM 32 on the surface of the tape 22 supplied from the tape cartridge 20 according to the attributes similarly input from the input 11. When printing is started, a print preprocessing routine (Step S10) is first carried out. In this step, processing related to formatting attributes of all sentences stored in the RAM 32 (for example, setting of the overall length of the piece of tape to be printed and the tape feeding amount (margins) before and after printing) is performed, and the tape cartridge information, temperature and voltage are read from the above-mentioned detection circuits to determine the control amount of the printer. In the following paragraph start processing routine (Step S11), a work area for processing character data in each line is set in the RAM 32 based on the set number of lines in a paragraph and the maximum character size in each line, and then, printing is started. At the beginning of printing, the number n of the line whose character data are to be unfolded, is set at 1 (Step S12), and sequential processing is started from the first line. As will be understood by those skilled in the art, "unfolding" comprises reading the bitmap data corresponding to a respective character from the ROM and mapping them in the RAM work area. At this time, if vertical printing and various character ornament functions (enhancement and reverse) are set, they are performed. When processing for one line of the thermal head 15 is completed (Step S14), it is verified whether or not unfolding of all lines is completed (Step S15). If any line remains to be unfolded, the line number n is incremented to n + 1 (Step S16), and unfolding of the data of the next line is performed. When one-line processing of data in all the lines is completed, the data from the RAM work area are copied to a line buffer 50 set in the RAM 32 in accordance with a line-correspondence table explained below. Fig. 5(A) shows the structure of the line buffer, which is set as successive RAM areas of 96 bits, that is, 12 bytes to achieve a one-to-one correspondence between one dot of the thermal head and one bit of the line buffer. The line buffer and line-correspondence tables are respectively shown in Figs. 5 and 6. Fig. 5(A) shows a structure example of the line buffer, and A, B and C in Fig. 5(B) each denote a print area corresponding to a respective print line. Fig. 6 shows the correspondence between the print areas and the print data lines. (A), (B) and (C) in Fig. 6 show cases in which normal printing, reverse printing and order designation are respectively selected. Thus, in the case of Fig. 6(A) print data line 1 will be printed in print area A, print data line 2 in print area B and print data line 3 in print area C. In the cases of Figs. 6(B) and (C) the order is correspondingly changed. Taking the correspondence of Fig. 6(C) as an example, the area designated A of the line buffer in Fig. 5(B) will hold the dot data for print data line 2, area B those for print data line 1 and area C those for print data line 3. To select a line-correspondence according to Fig. 6 (A) in lateral printing and (B) in vertical printing, may be determined either by software or by hardware. The preparation of the line-correspondence table shown in (C) before printing allows printing multiple print lines of a paragraph in any order of print data lines as designated by the user. The data from the line buffer 50 are sequentially transferred to the thermal head driver 34B as the SIO signal as they are, and the data for all of one or more lines of the respective paragraph are then simultaneously printed (Step S18). When the one line processing is completed, it is verified (Step S19) whether or not all the lines in the paragraph have been processed. If they have, processing is repeated for the next paragraph from the paragraph start processing (Step S11). After completing the processing on all paragraphs, printing is ended (S21). As is well known, the bitmap data represent each character or sign as a dot pattern in a dot matrix of multiple rows and columns. The direction of the columns is that of the arrangement of heating elements in the print head and printing is effected by printing one column of the dot matrix, shifting the tape, printing the next column, etc.. Where a paragraph comprises more than one line like the second paragraph in Figs. 7 and 8, the respective matrix columns of all lines are printed simultaneously. Thus, "one-line processing" as the term is used here refers the processing of one matrix column in one line. Processing of one paragraph is finished after all matrix columns of all the lines of the paragraph have been printed. Thus, according to the tape printing apparatus of this embodiment, the print position can be easily inverted in printing a plurality of lines without imposing a difficult input method on the user. Furthermore, printing in an arbitrary order is made possible by designating the print order after inputting characters. Fig. 12 shows steps for designating the print order and, thus, to establish the line-correspondence table used for writing data into the line buffer 50. First, by pressing a corresponding function key, an instruction to set the paragraph style is input (step S1). In response to this instruction, a menu of options is shown on the LCD panel 12: SET LINE INTERCHANGE (step S2), SET RULED LINE (step S3), SET LINE NUMBER AND SIZE (step S4) and SELECT VERTICAL OR LATERAL PRINTING (step S5). If SET LINE INTERCHANGE is selected and step S2 performed, another menu of options is displayed: NO INTERCHANGE (step S20), INVERT LINE (step S21) and INTERCHANGE (step S22). If NO INTERCHANGE is selected, a normal line-correspondence table (Fig. 6(A)) will be created. If INVERT LINE is selected, an inverted line-correspondence table (Fig. 6(B)) will be created. If INTERCHANGE is selected, the first to last print line are sequentially set (steps S220 to S223) and then the line-correspondence table corresponding to the set order of lines is created (step S224). If SELECT VERTICAL OR LATERAL PRINTING is selected from the first menu, step S50 will prompt for input of VERTICAL PRINTING YES or NO. If YES is chosen an inverted line-correspondence table will be created, otherwise a normal one. Step S6 finishes the settings by this procedure. When the print format (character size, font and the like) is set for each paragraph, a print order different from or identical with the indicated order is selected, or vertical printing or lateral printing is selected. In changing the print order, printing in an order designated by the user or printing, in which the line order is inverted, can be selected. The tape printing apparatus of the present invention is not limited to the above embodiment, and may be realized in various ways, for example, by using a handwriting recognition device or a dial input device as the input, or an ink-jet printer as the printer. As described above in conjunction with the embodiment, according to the tape printing apparatus of the present invention, since the position of a line can be inverted when a plurality of lines are printed, vertical printing of a heading, in which some characters are arranged laterally, can be easily achieved without performing difficult input including vertical inversion, and printing can be performed in a state in which the positional relation of lines of previously input sentences is inverted. Accordingly, operability of the tape printing apparatus can be enhanced drastically.

Claims: A tape printing apparatus comprising: input means (11) for inputting print data such as characters and signs, line number designating means (11, 30) for designating the number of print data lines in which said print data are to be printed, and printing means (34) capable of printing said print data in a plurality of print lines on a tape-like printing medium, characterized by print order setting means (11, 30) for designating an arbitrary line print order determining which of said designated number of print data lines is printed in which of said print lines. The apparatus according to claim 1, wherein said print order setting means has a line-correspondence table for storing a correspondence between line position information on each of said plurality of print lines and the print data line assigned to each print line. The apparatus according to claim 1, further comprising: printing direction designating means for designating lateral printing or vertical printing; and means for printing, when vertical printing is designated, the print data lines in a reversed line print order compared to that when lateral printing is designated.

Inventors: NUNOKAWA MASAHIKO, WATANABE KENJI, NUNOKAWA, MASAHIKO, WATANABE, KENJI
Applicants: KING JIM CO LTD, SEIKO EPSON CORP, KING JIM CO., LTD., SEIKO EPSON CORPORATION
Application year: 1994
Main classification: B41J21
IPC codes: B41J3, G06K15